


Written in INK

by CherieoftheDragons (SignCherie), SignCherie



Series: INKquisition [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, F/M, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-21 09:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4823369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SignCherie/pseuds/CherieoftheDragons, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SignCherie/pseuds/SignCherie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short fics set in the INKquisition universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> JupiterandOrpheus prompted: blackwall making mirevas breakfast?

“Do you even know how to cook eggs?”

Blackwall looked down at the frying pan and the mess of burned eggs there. “Not... exactly.”

Mirevas came up behind him, sliding her arms around his waist. “Hmm,” she said. “I guess there’s only one thing to do.”

“And that is?”

“Egg McMuffins.”

Blackwall sighed. “I tried.”

Mirevas pressed a kiss against the back of his shoulder. “And I love you for it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reinedesglacesalavanille prompted: Blackwall/Mirevas prompt. INKquisition universe. - Karaoke - Bonus points if the tattoo shop staff tricks Blackwall into singing the cheesiest love song ever.

“This is a bad idea,” Blackwall grumbled as he stepped up onto the stage.

“Ah, come on,” Iron Bull said. “You’re doing a song with the lead singer of the Chargers. How bad can it be?”

Blackwall scanned the crowd in the karaoke bar. “Bad enough.”

Iron Bull slapped him on the back. “You got this.”

“Right.”

The opening to “And I Love Her” by the Beatles started. Blackwall caught sight of Mirevas in the crowd, grinning at him happily.

“Oh, hey.” Iron Bull snapped his fingers. “I just remembered. I promised Dorian I’d get him a drink. You can handle this on your own, right?”

And before Blackwall could protest, Iron Bull had stepped down off the stage.

Fuck.

Blackwall’s eyes found Mirevas again. She had clapped both hands over her mouth and was watching him with wide eyes.

She was adorable.

And in that moment, he knew he could do this. Sing her a love song? He could do anything for her.

He began to belt out the lyrics. He was terrible and off-key, but it didn’t matter. The laughter and happiness on Mirevas’s face was all the encouragement he needed.

When the song ended, he stepped down off the stage. Mirevas ran straight into his arms.

He chuckled low in his throat. “I take it you liked that, my lady.”

“Let me show you how much,” she said, pulling him down for a passionate kiss.

As his lips met hers, he had only one thought in his mind: It was completely worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh-rhia-you-fangirl prompted: Alone in the dark. Your choice for main universe or INKquisition-verse.

Blackwall awoke in a cold sweat, images of Vincent Callier’s bloody body still swimming through his head. Christ. This nightmare had been a bad one. Instinctively, he reached for Mirevas, the touch of her body being the one thing that could always calm him, no matter how horrifying a dream he had.

His hands met empty sheets.

That’s right. He wasn’t at Mirevas’s. He was in his tiny studio, alone in the dark.

Blackwall squeezed his eyes shut, fighting against the images of the dream. Without Mirevas, though, he couldn’t shake them. He was doomed to another sleepless night.

Maybe… maybe… if he just heard her voice…

No. He shouldn’t wake her. It was selfish and inconsiderate. She needed her rest.

But he needed her. And she’d said, if he needed her…

He reached for his phone.

Mirevas picked up on the second ring. “‘Lo?” she murmured drowsily.

“I’m sorry.”

“Blackwall?” Her voice perked up. “Are you okay?”

He hesitated. “I - yes, I just --”

“A nightmare?”

“...yes.”

“It’s okay,” she said immediately. “I’m here.”

Blackwall felt the tension leaving his body. “I’m sorry for waking you.”

“I’m glad you did. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I just needed to hear your voice.”

“I’m here,” she said again. “Don’t worry.”

“I wish you were really here.”

Mirevas chuckled. “I wish that, too. We shouldn’t do this sleeping alone thing.”

“No,” Blackwall said, relaxing back into the bed and closing his eyes. “I agree.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Blackwall/Mirevas run into an ex" -- prompted by @chenria

“Thom? Thom Rainier?”

Mirevas and Thom were at the zoo, walking hand in hand, when the voice called out. Mirevas turned to see who had spoken. Beside her, Thom froze.

An attractive woman of about forty was approaching them with a smile. “That is you! Imagine running into you here!”

Mirevas looked to Thom. He took a breath, then turned to face the woman, smiling in a way that Mirevas recognized as forced.

“Joanna. What a pleasure to see you.”

The woman – Joanna – grinned and threw her arms around him. “What brings you to Chicago?”

Thom extracted himself from her embrace. “I live here now.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s wonderful! So do I! We’ll just have to get together! Pick up where we left off, maybe?”

Just as Mirevas was about to elbow Thom for not introducing her, he said, “Joanna, this is Mirevas.”

Joanna’s eyes fell on her, and Mirevas was certain Joanna’s smile now was fake. “Ah, Thom.” She winked at him. “Still the womanizer, I see. And they’re getting younger!” She turned her attention to Mirevas. “Broke my heart, this one did. Don’t you trust him. Thom Rainier is a confirmed bachelor. He’ll never settle down.”

"Is that so?"

The woman looked back to Thom, clearly bored with Mirevas. "So tell me." She smiled conspiratorially. "How many of these chickadees are you keeping around?"

Mirevas pushed down her growing anger and smiled as sweetly as she could. “Actually," she said pointedly, "I’m his wife.”

Joanna looked at her in confusion, as if trying to work out what she'd just said, Then her mouth fell open as realization hit her.

Ha. Mirevas tried not to revel in smug satisfaction at the look on this woman's face. Instead, she copied the woman's false, friendly tone. “It’s _so_ nice to meet you... Joanna, is it? We’ll just _have_ to get together.”

“Oh.” Joanna appeared to be floundering. “Yes.”

Mirevas took Thom’s hand. “Take care, then!”

With that, she walked away, leading Thom along with her.

When Joanna was out of earshot, Thom chuckled. “You saved me from that one.”

“Ex-girlfriend, I take it?”

“Of a sort. It – was a long time ago. I'm sorry, Mirevas, she should not have spoken to you that way.”

"I don't know. Seeing her all horrified like that was worth the insult." Mirevas considered. “Do you think I should have told her I was pregnant with your child?”

Thom laughed and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Oh, I think you’ve shocked her enough.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Write a drabble about one character explaining why the other is important to them." Prompted by Aphreal.

“Thom!”

At Mirevas’s scream, Thom jumped up, dropping his book, and rushed to the bathroom. He threw the door open with a bang. “What? What is it?”

Mirevas was standing on the toilet. With a trembling hand, she pointed to the opposite corner of the room.

Thom breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed two paper cups from the sink, and scooped up the daddy-long-legs she was pointing at, trapping it between the two cups. He then opened the window, tossed the spider out, closed it again, and dropped the cups in the wastebasket.

Shakily, Mirevas stepped down from the toilet and grinned weakly. “See? This is why I need you so much.”

Thom arched an eyebrow. “To rescue you from spiders?”

She nodded solemnly. “You’re my hero.”

Thom gave a mock bow. “At your service, as always, my lady.”

With a laugh, Mirevas stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “As always.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Are you still awake?" Prompted by gaurdian9sunshine and then again by Chenria.

Sera tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Blackwall to answer his mobile. Daft man. She would make him come out and party this time. It was only 1:00; that wasn’t even late. Poor sod needed to get some kind of life. Sleeping alone in that miserable one room studio night after night and shutting himself off from the rest of the world–

The phone clicked as Blackwall picked up. Sera didn’t bother waiting for him to speak. “Beardy! Are you still awake?” Of course he wasn’t, but that didn’t matter. She went on without a pause. “Got a party you’d be mad to miss. Come out and–”

“I’m sorry, Sera,” said a voice that was decidedly not Beardy. “Blackwall is awake, but he’s rather busy at the moment. Perhaps another time?”

For a moment, Sera just stood there, mouth agog. Then she started to laugh.

“Right you are, Inkquisitor. You take good care of him, yeah?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Mirevas replied. “I intend to.”

The mobile clicked off, and Sera tucked it into her pocket, grinning from ear to ear and feeling happier for Blackwall than she had in a long time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Everything's going to be okay." Prompted by rainier-skies.

Thom stepped into the apartment – and froze. Mirevas was pacing back and forth, phone to her ear, looking extremely pissed off and extremely intimidating.

“My wedding is in two days,” she growled into the phone, “and two of the bridesmaids dresses haven’t arrived. The two that did arrive don’t fit properly. Call me back immediately.”

With that, Mirevas punched a button on the phone and threw it onto the couch.

“Bad day?” Thom ventured.

Mirevas turned her glare on him, and Thom fought the urge to step backwards. “I can’t believe I trusted this seamstress. What are the bridesmaids going to wear?”

“I – don’t know?”

“It’s too late to get dresses anywhere else. I’m stuck with no options and no time. I can’t believe this!”

Cautiously, Thom took a step towards her. “Do the girls have any nice dresses in their closets?”

“I have no idea.”

“Then maybe we make a last minute run to a bridal shop or a department store.”

“The dresses won’t match!”

“Well – it’s better than them being naked, right?”

For a moment, Thom thought Mirevas might murder him. Then the tension went out of her, and she slumped.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”

“You are understandably upset.”

“But it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t be yelling at you for something you had nothing to do with. Two days before our wedding, even.”

Tentatively, Thom reached for her hand. Mirevas took his hand in both of hers.

“If the dresses don’t match,” she said, “then they don’t match. Nothing to be done.”

“Trust me, with you there, no one is going to be looking at the bridesmaids.”

Mirevas gave him a glare, and Thom put up his free hand in surrender. “The seamstress ought to be shot. Put her in the guillotine. Drop her from an airplane without a parachute.”

Mirevas sighed. “Just tell me that everything’s going to be okay,” she said.

Thom pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s going to be okay.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can’t you be happy for once?" Prompted by Aphreal.

As soon as Blackwall put the cell phone to his ear, Sera’s voice boomed out. “You tell her about your past yet?”

Blackwall gritted his teeth. “No, Sera. Not yet.”

“Bloody idiot. What are you waiting for?”

He thought of Mirevas, of her sweet, trusting smile, her unwavering faith in him. “Nothing. I just – I don’t –”

Sera groaned. “You’re making it worse, putting it off. Sooner you tell her, sooner you two can move on and be happy.”

At that, Blackwall laughed, a dry, humourless laugh. “Happy. Somehow I doubt that.”

“Yes, happy. You’re torturing yourself with all this. Put it behind you, yeah? Can’t you be happy for once?”

“You think I can be happy if she leaves me?”

“She’s not going to leave you, dolt. For some reason, she happens to love you.”

That would only make it worse when she heard the truth. She believed he was a good man. When she found out he wasn’t, it would be a betrayal.

“Fine. Keep your secret, then. But don’t say I didn’t try to help you.”

With that, Sera hung up the phone, leaving Blackwall alone with his guilt.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> musicalheart168 prompted:
> 
> Angst prompt for INKquisition-verse Solas and Mirevas. I am a sucker for unrequited love/the pining friend! "Friends forever, right? Isn't that what you said?" And/or "My lies aren't working anymore."

It was a fitting torture, watching Mirevas with Blackwall. It was what Solas deserved.

He watched them now as Mirevas threw her arms around Blackwall’s neck, standing on her tiptoes to reach his lips for a kiss. He heard her hum of appreciation, saw Blackwall’s arms slide around her waist…

If Mirevas was with Solas, she wouldn’t have to reach up. She would fit perfectly in his embrace. He imagined it now, how soft her tattooed skin would feel, how sweet her lips would taste –

Blackwall squeezed Mirevas tighter, lifting her straight up off the ground. Mirevas squealed.

Solas ought to look away, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from them.

_Friends forever, right? Isn’t that what you said?_

Yes, friends. Solas was happy to be friends with Mirevas. He didn’t need anything more.

If he lied to himself enough, he might start to believe it. Right?

_No. My lies aren’t working anymore._


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Are you crying?" Prompted by rainier-skies.

Thom was practically giddy. He’d been on the phone with his mother for an hour, chatting away as if he’d never been out of touch with her, as if she had never disowned him so many years ago. He’d never thought to hope for this much.

“Well,” she said. “I should go. You know how your father is when dinner is late.”

Thom smiled. He did know.

“It was nice to talk to you, Thom.”

“Yes. Very nice.” He hesitated, then said the thing he’d been afraid to say for the whole conversation. “I love you.”

There was a long silence. Thom couldn’t breathe.

Finally, his mother said, “Goodbye, Thom.”

He heard the click as the phone disconnected.

For a moment, he just sat there, phone still at his ear, unable to move. Then, slowly, he lowered the phone and dropped it in his lap.

Of course she hadn't said it back. It was too soon. He shouldn’t have said it. He had put her in an uncomfortable situation. How far back would this set their relationship?

He wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t. He wasn’t the kind of man who cried. This had been a good phone call. Nothing to be upset about.

But the tears leaked out anyway. In that moment, he wasn’t a man in his forties. He was a scared little boy who just wanted his mother to love him.

The door swung open, and Mirevas strode in. “You would not believe what happened today. Varric had this client–”

She caught sight of his face and stopped. “Are you crying?” she said softly.

He wiped his eyes and tried to collect himself. “No, of course not.”

But there was no fooling Mirevas. She crossed the room to him, sitting next to him and pulling him into her arms.

“Is it your mom?”

He swallowed, trying to clear the lump in his throat. “It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

Mirevas pressed a kiss to his cheek, and he choked on a sob.

“It’s all right if you need to cry,” she murmured. “I won’t tell anyone.”

With that, Thom let go of his control. He buried his head against her neck and wept. Mirevas held him tightly, stroking his back. Thom cried until he didn’t have any tears left, until he felt raw and open and vulnerable.

“I love you,” he said against Mirevas’s neck, half expecting her to push him away.

But of course she didn’t. She kissed the top of his head, then pressed her cheek against it. “I love you, too,” she said. “So much.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So why are you still here?" Prompted by saint-leona.

Mirevas slept too late. She could tell by the sunlight behind her eyelids as she drifted into wakefulness.

With a groan, she opened her eyes – and found Blackwall lying next to her, fast asleep.

Alarm shot through her, and she shook his shoulder. “Blackwall. Blackwall!”

He blinked at her sleepily.

“Didn’t you tell me you had to work today?”

“I did.”

“So why are you still here?”

Blackwall threw an arm around her, pulling her closer. “I called in sick.”

Mirevas’s mouth fell open. “Called in sick? You?”

“Is there some reason why I shouldn’t?”

“You never call in sick. You could have pneumonia, and you’d still go to work.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I have a very serious case of Mirevas-itis.”

Mirevas tried not to laugh.

“I’m afraid the only treatment is a day in your presence, my lady.” He pulled back slightly, studying her eyes. “Is that all right?”

Mirevas grinned and leaned in for a kiss. “I can think of worse ways to spend my day.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Aren't you going to say something?" Prompted by rainier-skies.

“Murderer.” Callier’s face burned with hatred as he stepped closer. “Murderer!”

“I’m sorry,” Blackwall cried. “Please, don’t–”

Callier’s hands closed around Blackwall’s neck, cutting off his air. “You deserve this,” he hissed at him. “You deserve to suffer.”

Blackwall awoke with a start. Sweat poured down his face. He sat up, trying to get his pounding heart under control.

Beside him, Mirevas stirred, then blinked up at him. “Nightmare?”

He nodded.

She sat up, sliding her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

It wasn’t okay. Callier was right. Blackwall deserved to suffer. Mirevas offered comfort that he had no right to.

He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m a monster, Mirevas. Evil. You ought to run. You ought to get as far away from me as you can.”

Mirevas said nothing. Slowly, she pulled her arms back.

Blackwall’s heart beat even faster than before. Had he finally made an impression? Did she realize at last how horrible he was, how much better she deserved?

“Aren’t you going to say something?” he choked.

Mirevas shook her head. “That’s so ridiculous I won’t dignify it with an answer.”

She reached for his head, drawing him in, and pressed a kiss against his forehead. Blackwall heaved a shuddering sigh and wrapped his arms around her, letting her whisper soft, reassuring words that eased the pain away.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why can't you grow up?" Prompted by Chenria.

“Are you seriously going to bail on me today?”

Blackwall looked away from Mirevas’s angry glare. “Meri Guerrin really needs volunteers for her new project.”

“Meri Guerrin is thrilled that you’re finally meeting my dads. Don’t use her as an excuse.”

“But they’re building a new playground–”

“They can do without you for one day.”

Blackwall shifted his weight. “I really don’t want to miss–”

Mirevas glowered at him. “Blackwall. Why can’t you grow up? You’re an adult. You can handle meeting your fiancee’s parents.”

He wasn’t sure about that.

Mirevas’s face softened, and she took a step forward, putting her hand on his cheek. “They’re going to love you.”

Blackwall laughed. “If I were your dad, I would hate me.”

She tilted her head. “All right. I can’t promise they’ll love you. But they’ll be polite, and you can win them over.” She stroked his cheek softly. “You won me over.”

Despite his nerves, Blackwall found Mirevas’s touch comforting. “I think that just proves you have terrible taste in men.”

She laughed, and Blackwall found himself laughing as well. “I think I did okay,” she said, drawing him down for a kiss.

As his lips met hers, Blackwall felt the worst of his nervousness slip away. She was right. He was being childish. He could do this. For her, he could do anything.


End file.
